Visible perforating apparatus with reciprocating stripping



Oct. 8, 1968 w. 4.. DOLLENMAYER 3,404,594

VISIBLE PERFQRATING APPARATUS WITH RECIPROCATING STRIPPING Filed Oct.50, 1964 CONT'D. FROM N0.

INVENTOR. WILLIAM L. DOLLENMAYER av 11 f ATTORNEY.

BY f DEPT LTR SEC

FIG. 7

United States Patent 3,404,594 VISIBLE PERFORATING APPARATUS WITHRECIPROCATING STRIPPING William L. Dollenmayer, Lexington, Ky., assignorto International Business Machines Corporation, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 407,840 4Claims. (Cl. 83-587) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates toperforating apparatus in a dictating machine environment in which all ofthe primary working elements of the apparatus are positioned adjacent anindex slip being perforated on a side opposite to that being observed sothat entire index slip is visible.

The dictating machine is controlled by a microphone handset having anindex control button. Movement of the button to the alternative Letter(LTR) or Secretary (SEC) positions operates mechanisms to punchcorresponding perforations in an index slip 21. The perforations areeffected by a punch element that is mounted in a stripper forreciprocation from a home position toward the front of the machine andthen back to the home position. A conical portion of the punch elementtears the index slip during the outward movement from home position andsevers a chad in the slip as it returns to the home position.

The perforating apparatus is disclosed herein in connection withdictating equipment but should find usefulness in a wide variety ofequipment in which perforation of a media is required.

Dictating machines of many different types are in widespread use today.Their advantages, including rapid and efficient preparation of reports,letters, and similar documents using various types of recording mediasuch as magnetic belts or sheets, are well known. Such machines arenormally provided with a transducer, such as a microphone having controlbuttons thereon for controlling various machine operations, andcircuitry and mechanisms for translating the dictators speech intosignals that may then be recorded on the recording media employed. If amagnetic belt is used, for example, a typical dictating capacity for thebelt is ten to fourteen minutes. During dictation, the drive mechanismsin the equipment serve to move the magnetic recording head from a zeroposition to the end of the belt. During this movement of the head thebelt is rotated and the combined movements of the belt and head resultin a helical path being recorded on the belt.

It has always been desirable in dictating equipment to have some meansfor informing the dictator of his position on the recording media. Thismeans is commonly referred to as indexing means and serves not only toinform the dictator of his position, but also to inform the transcriberat a later time of the length of the various dictated materials on themedia as well as special instructions that should be observed during thetranscribing procedure.

Indexing mechanisms in the past have taken a number of forms but inpractically every case they include some sort of index slip that isarranged adjacent the record media and having index markings on it thatcorrespond to the increments of dictating intervals on the recordingmedia. As an example, if the recording media has a capacity of tenminutes, then the index slip might have designations printed thereonfrom zero to ten at regular intervals corresponding to each minute onthe recording media. Many methods have been proposed in the past formarking the index slip in order indicate the ends of letters or specialinstructions. Index slips have been provided with specially treatedsurfaces that can be scraped off to give an indication. One of the mostcommon ways of making indications on the index slip is to perforate theslip by means of an associated perforating mechanism that moves alongwith the head and which is always positioned adjacent the index slip ina position that corresponds to the relative position of the head withrespect to the recording media.

One of the problems with prior art perforating mechanisms of this natureis that the mechanisms have been somewhat complicated and cumbersome andhave usually obscured the area of the index slip that is currentlysubject to perforation. This has necessitated the dictator ortranscriber moving the entire assembly to another location with respectot the slip so that area under consideration can be observed. Prior artdevices have usually had some large portion of the perforating ormarking mechanism positioned in front of the slip between the observerand the slip. Moving the entire assembly out of the Way in order toobserve the slip requires additional time and also requires that theoperator, the dictator or transcriber, listen again to the material inorder to relocate the head assembly and indexing assembly in the sameposition that they previously occupied.

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a simplifiedperforating apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a perforating apparatusthat is arranged in such a fashion that any media being perforated isvisible at all times to an observer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a perforating apparatusthat may be operated electrically or manually as requiredlby equipmentparameters.

Another object of the invention is to provide an indexing mechanism fordictating equipment that performs the indexing operation with a highdegree of reliability and which operates with complete visibility forthe user of the equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a perforating apparatuswhich is designed in a manner to reduce noise of operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus forperforating closely spaced indicia with compactly arranged mechanisms.

Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus forperforating a record media in a rapid and sh-arply defined fashion.

In order to accomplish these and other objects of the invention, aperforating apparatus is arranged in such a manner that all of theprimary working elements of the apparatus are positioned adjacent therecord media being perforated on a side opposite to that being observed.

In addition, the mechanisms of the present invention are designed insuch a manner that rapid and smooth operation is insured withperforations that are cleanly severed.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of the various embodiments of the invention as illustratedin the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a dictating equipment inwhich the invention is incorporated.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of the indexing mechanism inthe dictating equipment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top elevation of certain perforating mechanisms used in theequipment of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 represent a typical sequence of operation of theperforating mechanisms illustrated in FIG. 3, slightly modified.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative arrangment of the perforatingmechanisms previously shown.

FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of the perforating mechanisms andassociated actuating elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a 'well known dictating machine configuration.

The dictating equipment is not shown in complete detail but generally iscomparable to that dislosed in US. patent application Ser. No. 216,261,now US. Patent 3,222,460, entitled Multiple Station Selection System,with N. J. Albanes and M. P. Langendorf as inventors, filed Aug. 10,1962, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. Thedictating machine is designated 1 and is interconnected by a cable 2 toa handpiece microphone 3. Machine 1 has various circuits and mechanismsfor recording and reproducing dictated material and for giving anindication of the progress of dictation or transcription. A belt releaselever 4 is pulled forward to permit the loading of a magnetic belt 5,whereupon the belt release lever 4 is moved again to the position shownin FIG. 1. Signals derived from the microphone 3 through a transducerarea 6 are directed by cable 2 to amplifier block 7 and from there tothe recording head 8. Recording head 8 is mounted for lateral movementon a carriage 9 from a home position at the extreme left of belt to anadvanced position at the extreme right of belt 5. Belt 5 is rotated bymandrel 10 in a forward direction indicated by arrow 11 past recordinghead 8. As mentioned before, the relative movements of head 8 and belt 5result in the recording of a helical path about the periphery of belt 5.

Machine 1 also has a speed control lever 12, a volume control knob shownin phantom at 13 and a tuning or tracking knob that is designated 15.Lever 12 permits the slowing down or speeding up of the belt to suit thelisteners requirements. Knob 13 controls the volume level duringplayback. Knob 15 enables the user to position head 8 with a fine degreeof control in order to establish proper tracking of a recorded path.

In addition to transducer 6 for picking up speech signals duringrecording and for serving as an output during reproduction, microphone 3has a mode control button 16 with three positions: Record (REC), Listen(LIS) and Review (REV). Microphone 3 also has an instruction or indexingbutton 17 with three positions: Letter (LTR), off, and Secretary (SEC).Microphone 3 also has a dictate bar 18.

To record material on belt 5, mode control button 16 is moved to theupper Record position. When the user desires to dictate, he depressesthe dictate bar 18 which results in the movement of belt 5 and head 8 inthe manner previously noted, and through circuits not shown, signals arerecorded on belt 5. In order to listen to previously dictated material,the mode control button 16 is moved to the central Listen position,whereupon the drive mechanism in machine 1 is automatically activated torotate belt 5 and move head 8, and to thereby generate signals forreproduction by transducer 6. If the dictator desires to hear materialthat he has previously recorded he moves the mode control button 16 downto the lower position for Review purposes. Button 16 is spring loadedfrom the lower position to the central position. Movement of button 16in this manner results in a backspacing operation so that head 8 takesup a position approximately one track earlier on belt 5. Each timebutton 16 is depressed to the lower position in this manner abackspacing operation will occur. The spring loaded movement of button16 to the Listen position then enables the user to litsen to thepreviously recorded material from transducer 6t As with most dictatingmachines, machine 1 is provided with an indexing assembly 19 andassociated perforating mechanisms indicated at 20. Portions of theseassemblies are illustrated with a front elevation in FIG. 2. Theindexing assembly has provision for retaining an index slip or tab 21having numerical designations thereon 'which correspond to the relativelocation of the head 8 in relation to belt 5. In the exampleillustrated, index slip 21 has 4 fourteen increments respectivelydesignated 0, 10 etc. through 140. These correspond to fourteen minutesof dictation capacity on belt 5.

Associated with carrier 9 is an index lever 22 having a serrated element23. Sound head 8 can be positioned to any point with respect to belt 5by squeezing element 23 and lever 22 together and thereafter slidinglever 22 to the right or left as desired. Certain portions of theindexing assembly 19 have been cut away in FIG. 1 to more clearly showthe structural configuration of the perforating assembly 20.

Assembly 19 has a transparent material 24 with slots 25 and 26. Slots 25and 26 are positioned in such a manner that when index slip 21 isproperly inserted in the index assembly, two channels, a Letterinstruction channel, and a Secretary instruction channel on the indexslip will be completely exposed to view while the remainder of the indexslip 21 can be seen through the transparent material 24.

Button 17 on microphone 3 has upper and lower positions that correspondrespectively with the upper and lower channels on the index slip 21.When button 17 on microphone 3 is moved to the upper Letter position, ahole is perforated in the top channel of the index slip 21 by actuationof perforating mechanism 20. When knob 17 on microphone 3 is moved tothe lower Secretary instruction position, a hole is perforated in indexslip 21 in the lower channel by the perforating mechanism 20. Generallyspeaking, a perforation in the upper channel informs the transcriberthat a letter has ended at the point of perforation.

According to a feature of the present invention, the perforations in thetwo channels of index slip 21 are formed by actuation of punch elements27 and 28 that are respectively associated with channels 25 and 26, andthe operation is such that the index slip is completely visible at alltimes as head 8 scans belt 5 from beginning to end. In the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 1-7, the punching operation takes place with thefollowing mechanisms.

Referring to FIG. 3, an observers position is indicated at 29 as beingpositioned on the front side of the index slip 21. The perforatingassembly 20 is positioned on the reverse side of index slip 21 which isin a direction toward the rear of machine 1. FIG. 3 is a topcross-sectional elevation of the perforating assembly and only punchelement 27 is shown. Punch element 27 is mounted in a stripper 30 forreciprocation from a home position toward the front of the machine andthen back to the home position as shown in FIG. 3. Punch element 27 isarranged for reciprocation in an opening 31 of stripper 30. Punchelement 27 has three major portions. A conical portion 27a is positionedtoward the front of the machine. A cylindrical portion of lesserdiameter 27b is formed as an intermediate part of punch element 27, anda shank portion 270 is at the rear of punch element 27. Punch element 27also has a flanged surface 27d at the rearmost extremity. Punch element28 is formed like punch element 27. Punch element 27 is normallymaintained to the rear in its restv position by a compression spring 32while punch element 28 is normally maintained in its home position to threar by a compression spring 33.

Referring to both FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, positioned ad jacent the rearmostextremities of punch elements 27 and 28 is an actuator bail member 34that is rotatably mounted in a bushing 35 at one end and in a bushing 36at the other end. Actuator bail 34 has an upper flat extension 37 thatlies adjacent the rear extremity of punch element 27 and a lower flatextension 38 that is positioned adjacent the rear extremity of punchelement 28;

Actuator bail 34 is mounted for movement under control of a punch plate39 that in turn is controlled by plungers 40 and 41. Plungers 40 and 41are moved by upper and lower solenoids 42 and 43. Bail 34 is also sumingthat it is desired to perforate a Letter instruction hole in index slip21, button 17 is moved to the upper Letter (LTR) position. Movement ofthe button 17 in this direction results in the energization of solenoid43. Plunger 41 is thereupon pulled to the rear which rocks plate 39 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1. Rocking of plate 39results in the associated actuator bail 34 also rocking with top flange37'being moved toward punch element 27. This causes punch element 27 tomove forward in the opening 31 with continued movement causing conicalportion 27a of punch element 27 to pierce the index slip 21.

The sequence of operation is shown in FIGS. Referring to FIG. 4, punchelement 27 and bail 34 are in the home position. When operated, bail 34moves in a direction toward the front of the machine as indicated byarrow 44, FIG. 4. The piercing of index slip 21 by punch element 27 isillustrated in FIG. 5. The movement of punch element 27 is quite rapidand a perforation occurs when conical portion 27a passes through slip 21due to the inertia of slip 21 and the relative positioning of slip 21adjacent the transparent material 24.

FIG. 6 illustrates conditions as punch element 27 is restored to itshome position. For convenience, the stripper is shown with a slantedfront face that is slightly modified from FIGS. 1-3, and is redesignated30w. Conical portion 27a has a relatively flat rear surface thatcooperates with the slanted face of stripper 30a. As punch element 27passes through slip 21 and prior to its complete return to the homeposition, the severed portions of slip 21 drop into the area of portion27b of punch element 27. These portions are carried by the conicalportion 27a to the rear as the punch element restores. A shearing actiontakes place due to the fact that the fiat surface of portion 27a isfitted with rather close tolerance inside the opening 31a and also dueto some extent to the slanted face of stripper 30a. This action resultsin the complete severing of the edges of the perforation to insure thata clean well defined perforation is made in the index slip. Continuedmovement of punch element 27 to its home position returns punch element27 to the rear of index slip 21 and permits slip 21 to return to itsnormal vertical position in the index assembly 19.

The front face of stripper 30 can also be changed so that it is more orless vertical in relation to the index slip. This is illustrated in FIG.7 where a transparent plate 45 is positioned in front of an index slip46. A punch element 47 is positioned inside a stripper element 48 whichhas a substantially vertical front surface 48a. Operation of theperforating mechanism of FIG. 7 would occur in approximately the samefashion as with the mechanisms previously discussed except that theshearing action on the return movement of the punch element 47 will takeplace about the same time around the entire edge of the opening 49 instripper 48 rather than in a scissors-like manner as occurs with theslanted surface of the stripper 30a.

Normally, the chad resulting from one perforation will fall out thefront of the stripper on the forward stroke of the punch element duringthe succeeding operations. If desired, however, a chad drop, such asopening 59 in FIG. 7, can be provided to allow chad to drop out of themechanism immediately following each perforation.

Considering FIG. 4 again, the perforating mechanism of the presentinvention could be actuated manually rather than electrically aspreviously described. The dashed bail 34 would then not be provided atall. A manual depression of the punch element 27 by pressing on flange27d in the same direction as indicated by arrow 44 would result in acomparable perforating action. Additional linkages could be added to themechanism to provide manual levers that would be more accessible to thefront of the device. A manually actuated perforating element of thistype could be advantageous in a small portable dictating machine, forexample.

The perforation of index slip 21 in channel 26 for in- FIG. 8illustrates a compact arrangement for actuating the punch elementsdirectly with solenoids that are mounted concentrically with theelements and in a staggered fashion to permit the use of solenoidshaving sufficient size to perform satisfactorily. In FIG. 8, atransparent material 50 is positioned in front of an index slip 51 thatis maintained by an index assembly 52. Punch element 53 has anassociated solenoid 54 while punch element 55 has an associated solenoid56 that is positioned to the rear and below solenoid 54. Punch element53 extends through solenoid 54 in a coaxial fashion to terminate with aflange portion 53a while punch element 55 extends through solenoid 56and terminates with a flange portion 55a. Punch elements 53 and 55 aremaintained in a normal rearward home position by respectively associatedspring elements 57 and 58. The shapes of the punch elements adjacentindex slip 51 in FIG. 8 would be comparable to the shapes for thosepunch elements previously discussed such as elements 27 and 28.

Operation of the device in FIG. 8 is as follows. Assuming thatmicrophone 3 is interconnected with the device of FIG. 8, depression ofthe button 17 on microphone 3, results in the energization of eithersolenoid 54 or solenoid 56. If solenoid 54 is energized, punch element53 is drawn to the front and thereafter restored to perforate index slip5-1 in essentially the same fashion as previously described inconnection with FIGS. 1-7. The movement of button 17 in the oppositedirection results in the energization of solenoid 56 and the perforationof the lower channel of index slip 51 by punch element 55.

It is appropriate to point out certain advantages of the inventiveapparatus. The structural characteristics are such that the apparatuslends itself to simplified manufacturing and installation procedures. Inaddition, since no die element is required in the front of themechanism, no alignment problems exist as with prior art devices thatuse a cooperating die and stripper combination. From the foregoingdiscussion, it is evident that the inventive concepts could be appliedin many different types of equipment all using similar basic principles.

An outstanding and obvious advantage provided by the apparatus is thatthe index record media, such as slip 21, is visible to the operator ofthe equipment at all times, and therefore the necessity for moving thecarrier assembly and the index assembly in order to determine whatperforations exist in the slip and the requirement to then relocate theentire assemblies to their former positions, is eliminated.

The device functions in an accurate and rapid manner to supplyperforations having good visibility.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to several embodiments, it Will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and detail may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Marking apparatus for visibly perforating a record media to formindividual apertures of substantial size and predetermined configurationcomprising:

an observation station;

means for supporting said media in a plane with a first one of itssurfaces facing toward said observation station;

reciprocating perforating means mounted solely adjacent an oppositesurface of said media for movement from a home position toward saidmedia, said perforating means having a portion shaped for easypenetration of said media during movement from said home position andfurther having a shoulder formed in accordance with said predeterminedconfiguration for engagement with a substantial portion of said mediaupon penerating said media;

means for reciprocating said perforating means from said home position asufficient distance for said perforating means to penetrate said media;

and stripper means coextensively mounted with said reciprocatingperforating means, said stripper means also being formed in accordancewith said prede termined configuration and cooperatively engaged withsaid perforating means so that during the return movement of saidperforating means the portion of said media engaged by the shoulder ofsaid perforating means is completely severed as a chad from said mediato form an aperture according to said predetermined configuration.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises:

transparent means mounted adjacent the first one of the said surfaces ofsaid media for providing backup support for said media during theforward perforating movement of said element, said transparent meansbeing positioned substantially coextensively with said media andenabling viewing of the entire surface of said media.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

8. said stripper means has an opening extending therethrough and isgenerally perpendicularto 'the plane of said media; and wherein i saidperforating me'ans'is mounted within'said opening for reciprocationfromhome position toward said media, has ipenetratingportionpositionedtoward said media and a cutting shoulder surface formed forengagement with said media and severing action with said opening, andfiirther has an axial portion of lesser dimension to accommodate mediaengaged there- 10 with following penetration.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein: said perforating means has aconically shaped portion positioned for penetration of said media and anedged 15 surface on said conically shaped portion formed for severingaction with said stripper means to form round apertures in said media.

References Cited 20 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,941,316 12/1933 Patzer83-578 3,091,668 5/1963 .Trost 179100.1 X 3,222,460 12/1965 Albanes etal 179100.1

25 BERNARD KONICK, Primary Examiner.

R. F. CARDILLO, Assistant Examiner.

